The Wood at Midwinter

Susanna Clarke
Victoria Sawdon (Illustrator)
Bloomsbury

From the revered author of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Piranesi comes a bewitching seasonal novella about a young woman who can talk to animals and the mysterious events that befall her in the woods.

Set in the world of Clarke's much loved novel 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' this Xmas fable is the story of 'Merowdis Scott', of her love of the animals and the woods and of an encounter amongst the trees that grants her her deepest desire.

Augmented with the delicate illustrations of Victoria Sawdon - who shamefuly isn't named on the cover - this tiny tale offers a welcome return to that magical England that is as fleeting as it is frustrating.  It's a fable, a folktale, a mythic origin story and beyond it's loveliness there's the very slightest of stories which for a reader like me who finds myths and folktales narratively unsatisfying it's appeal is limited but for what it is its rather charming.

Rounding the book out is a fascinating essay that pulls back the curtain on the origin of the story that lies in the authors love of the music of Kate Bush.  

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